Winter Olympics

The 25 most dominant performances in Olympic alpine skiing history

Methodology: Each Olympian’s rating is based on the standard deviation of his or her time* – calculated in seconds — measured against the average of the first 30 finishers unless there are fewer than 30 competitors, or unless a competitor finishes more than one-half standard deviation behind the competitor immediately ahead of them. If the latter occurs, his or her time and those of all subsequent competitors are not considered. However, at least 10 competitors’ times must be considered unless there were fewer than 10 competitors. The following example, from the famous 1968 men’s downhill won by the glamorous Frenchman Jean Claude Killy, illustrates the method. The field average was 123.28 seconds; the standard deviation was 1.81 seconds:

Place Entrant Nation Seconds St. Dev.

Jean Claude Killy France 85 -1.90

Guy Penliat France 93 -1.85

John-Daniel Datwyle Switzerland 32 -1.64

Heinrich Messner Austria 03 -1.24

Karl Schranz Austria 89 -0.77

Ivo Nmahlknecht Italy 00 -0.71

Gerhard Prinzing West Germany 10 -0.65

Bernard Orcel France 22 -0.59

Gerhard Nenning Austria 31 -0.54

Edy Bruggmann Switzerland 36 -0.51

Gerhard Mussner Italy 50 -0.43

Luggi Leitner West Germany 54 -0.41

Egon Zimmerman Austria 55 -0.40

Jos Minch Switzerland 76 -0.29

Franz Vogler West Germany 94 -0.19

Dumeng Giovanoli Switzerland 98 -0.17

Bjarne Strand Norway 20 -0.04

Billy Kidd USA 40 0.07

Dieter Fersch West Germany 41 0.07

Leo Lacroix France 86 0.32

Dennis McCoy USA 82 0.85

Teresio Vachet Italy 90 0.90

Jon Terje Overland Norway 34 1.14

Malcolm Milne Australia 36 1.15

Jeremy Palmer-Tomkinson Great Britain 43 1.19

Andrzej Bachleda-Curus Poland 48 1.22

Wayne Henderson Canada 56 1.26

Renato Valentini Italy 61 1.29

Rune Lindstrom Sweden 69 1.33

Ulf Ekstam Finland 14 1.58

*For a few years, medals in one Alpine event – the Combined – were awarded based on a point system rather than on combined times.

Summary: More than any other major individual sporting event, there is a clear gender bias to the results in Alpine skiing…and that bias favors female competitors. Of the 26 most dominant performances in history (there was a tie for 25th), 17 were recorded by women, including the eight most dominant. I can think of no good reason why this would be so; accordingly I won’t postulate one. As might be expected, Europeans – largely from Alpine countries – dominate this list. There are five Swiss, four Austrians, four Italians and three Germans. Only four of the most dominant 26 are from outside Europe, two from Canada and two from the United States. Twelve of the 26 showed their dominance in the giant slalom, and nine more in the downhill. That suggests it is harder to dominate in the shorter, more finesse-oriented events. Only two of the 26 dominated in the slalom, only three in the Super G, and none in the Combined event. The 1972 and 1988 Winter games in Sapporo and Calgary stand out with four of the 25 most dominant performances each. There are no skiers represented from 1936 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen), 1948 (St. Moritz), 1960 (Squaw Valley), 1980 (Lake Placid), 2010 (Vancouver) or 2014 (Sochi). Two skiers make the list twice: Italy’s Deborah Compagnoni for her performances in the 1992 women’s super G and 1994 women’s giant slalom, and Switzerland’s Marie-Theres Nadig for her performances in the 1972 women’s giant slalom and downhill.

Disclaimer: Our perceptions of the strength of individuals (or teams) can be colored by factors that are extraneous to their actual dominance: general familiarity, the presence or absence of attention-getting personalities, national affinities, subjective opinions that become engrained over time, superiority in certain statistical categories being the most likely. This rating is based on an objective methodology, meaning that it is immune to influence from any of those criteria. That also means its findings may vary – in some cases substantially – from the historical consensus. As you scan this list, be prepared to have your presumptions of relative greatness challenged.

Each paragraph contains the skiers’s rank, name, Olympic year and event, plus his or her dominance score as expressed in standard deviation below the average of the 30 best performers in that event.

T-25. Bernhard Russi, Switzerland, 1972 men’s downhill, -2.20: In a field stripped of its biggest name – Austrian favorite Karl Schranz had been disqualified for professionalism – Russi was the one who seized the opportunity. He was a former world cup champion in the downhill when he finished at 1:51.43 at Sapporo, a half second ahead of teammate Roland Collombin. Four years later Russi’s bid to become the first downhiller to repeat his gold medal run came up a quarter second behind Franz Klammer.

T-25. Janica Kostelnic, Croatia, 2002 women’s giant slalom, -2.20: The Park City course seemed to particularly suit Kostelic, who entered the event winless and ranking only 28th in the World Cup standings. Her stunning 76-second first run led pre-race favorite Sonja Nef by nearly a second, and was a half second faster than any other skier. Kostelnic led the field again in the second run, finishing more than 1.3 seconds ahead of the field. The victory catapulted her into a starring role at Salt Lake; she won the slalom and combined event as well and at the 2006 Turin Games added a fourth gold medal in the Combined.

Franck Picard, France, 1988 super giant slalom, -2.21: The “super G’ was a new Olympic event in 1988, combining the twists and turns of a slalom course with the sheer speed of a downhill. One of the early skiers, Picard felt unimpressed by his 1:39.66 time, telling reporters at the bottom he was “really angry with myself.” There was no need for such self-abnegation. His biggest challengers, world and downhill champion Pirmin Zurbriggen as well as 1980 downhill gold medalist Leonhard Stock, both ran afoul of gates, finishing in a tie for fifth and in eighth respectively. Piccard’s time was more than a second better than that of the runner-up.

T-21. Paola Magoni, Italy, 1984 women’s slalom, -2.26: The women’s slalom course at Sarajevo was the Olympic equivalent of a demolition derby. Fewer than half the 45 starters completed the two runs without falling or missing a gate. Among those in the latter category was the first run leader, France’s Christelle Guignard. Into the gap stepped the previously lightly regarded Magoni, whose previous best World Cup finish was sixth.

T-21. Julia Mancuso, United States, 2006 women’s giant slalom, -2.26: The favorite was Anja Parson, a Swedish skier who would win the slalom a few days later. But Parson skied an uninspired first run in the giant slalom, ceding the lead to the lightly regarded Mancuso. In the final run, Mancuso skied last among the contenders, meaning she knew precisely the time she had to beat…and it wasn’t Parsons. Finland’s Tanja Pooutianen had posted an overall 2:09.86. Mancuso’s 1:08.3 got her to the finish six-tenths of a second ahead of Pooutianen.

T-21. Ossi Reichert, Germany, 1956 women’s giant slalom, -2-26: Rosa ‘Ossi’ Reichert, 1952 silver medalist in the slalom, drew the first starting position in the 1956 race, usually bad news since the first skier must cope with heavy snow cover that has been brushed away by the time later skiers come down. But it was the other skiers who faced problems when Reichert posted a time of 1:56.5. Nobody came within a second of it, giving Reichert Germany’s only gold medal of the games.

T-19. Alberto Tomba, Italy, 1988 men’s giant slalom, -2.33: A star on the slalom circuit coming into the Games – and as a result a heavy favorite in both events – Tomba took all the suspense out of the giant slalom competition early. He completed the first of his two runs more than a second ahead of his only serious competitors, Pirmin Zurbriggen and Hubert Strolz, and essentially coasted through the second run to his gold medal. Tomba went on to win the slalom as well.

T-19. Annemarie Proll, Austria, 1972 women’s downhill, -2.33: Proll was the favorite entering the Sapporo race, and she lived up to the billing. Her 1:37 flat was nearly three-quarters of a second better than any other competitor …any other, that is, except gold medalist Marie-Theres Nadig (see below). Proll is one of only two people on this list who did not claim the gold medal as a result of their dominating performance.

Stein Eriksen, Norway, 1952 men’s giant slalom, -2.35: The model of the debonair ski instructor, Eriksen was the sport’s first superstar, popular with women and a heavy favorite at the Oslo games in his home country. He managed only a sixth in the downhill but beat the field by nearly two seconds in the giant slalom. “I had a great advantage because I knew the course by heart,” he said. Two days later in the slalom, Eriksen led after the first run only to see Austrian Othmar Schneider overtake him by two-tenths of a second.

T-16. Andrea Mead Lawrence, United States, 1952 women’s giant slalom, -2.39: The first American Olympic ski heroine, Lawrence was a 19-year-old newlywed when she won gold medals in the giant slalom and slalom. A Vermont native, she remains the only American two-time gold medalist in the Alpine events. Her giant slalom victory came by more than two seconds over Austrian Dagmar Rom, who starred in films when she wasn’t skiing.

T-16. Christl Haas, Austria, 1964 women’s downhill, -2.39: As 1962 world champion and heavy favorite entering the race, Haas breezed to the gold medal in her Olympic debut by more than a full second over teammate Edith Zimmerman. She added a bronze in the 1968 Olympic downhill before retiring to become a coach and businesswoman.

Toni Sailer, Austria, 1956 men’s giant slalom, -2.40: Sailer was the dominant figure at the 1956 Winter games, winning golds in all three men’s Alpine events, the downhill, giant slalom and slalom. His win in the giant slalom was especially noteworthy, coming by an unthinkable six seconds over the runner-up. Expressed another way, Sailer finished farther ahead of the runner-up than the runner-up finished ahead of the skier who finished 10th.

Henri Oreiller, France, 1948 men’s downhill, -2.42: Oreiller was a daredevil who later took to auto racing and died on the track. A freedom fighter in occupied France during World War II, he showed his unparalleled nerve at St. Moritz by barreling down the course in a time that was four seconds better than any of the other competitors. Seven decades later, it remains the largest margin of victory in men’s Olympic downhill history.

Pirmin Zurbriggen, Switzerland, 1988 men’s downhill, -2.48: Zurbriggen, the 1985 world champion, entered the downhill as a co-favorite with teammate and defending world champion Peter Muller heading a loaded field that also included the highly regarded Leonhard Stock, Anton Steiner and Markus Wasmeier. By the time Zurbriggen skied, Muller had already posted his own time that was more than a full second better than anyone else. Motivated, Zurbriggen summoned an even better performance, beating Muller by a half second, and beating all other competitors by nearly two seconds.

T-11. Rosi Mittermaier, West Germany, 1976 women’s giant slalom, -2.55: That Mittermaier came away with only a silver medal seems hard to believe. Already the gold medalist in the downhill and slalom, she was seeking to become the first woman to sweep the Alpine golds. The heavy favorite, her run was nearly flawless, spoiled by only a handful of crammed gates near the finish. She crossed the line in 1:29.25, a superb time but fractions of a second behind Canadian Kathy Kreiner (see below).

T-11. Marie-Theres Nadig, Switzerland, 1972 women’s downhill, -2.55: A 17-year-old relative unknown, Nadig faced one of the strongest fields in Olympic history, featuring favorite and future gold medalist Annemarie Proll, future two-time gold medalist Rosi Mittermaier, 1968 silver medalist Isabelle Mir, and 1968 giant slalom silver medalist Annie Famose. American Susan Corrock held the lead when Nadig came down the hill, posting a 1:36.68 run that bettered Corrock by a full second. Proll skied next, but came up a third of a second short.

Hans Petter Burass, Norway, 1998 men’s slalom, -2.56: The event was essentially a dual meet, the Norwegians and Austrians claiming the first six places. Burass later told reporters he told teammate Ole Christian Furuseth between runs that “I would let him win the gold…but halfway down the run I’d forgotten.” He defeated Furuseth by 1.3 seconds in the combined times of the two runs.

Antoine Denerias, France, 2006 men’s downhill, -2.57: Denerias was 29, ranked only 38th in the World Cup, and to all appearances past his prime at Turin. So his fast time in the final trial run commanded the attention of a field laden with stars including American Bode Miller, Austrian Herman Maier and Fritz Strobl (the defending champion), and Norwegian Kjetl Andre Aamodt. Those four already owned a combined six gold medals, and they had two more in their combined futures. Denerias was unawed, posting a 1:48.80 time that beat the equally surprising silver medalist, Michael Walchhofer, by seven-tenths of a second. None of the favorites finished in a medal position. Of all the glamorous male figures in Olympic skiing – Klammer, Killy, Sailer, Eriksen, Zurbriggen – it is the relatively unknown Denerias who put together the most dominant performance.

Marie-Theres Nadig, Switzerland, 1972 women’s giant slalom, -2.59: Coming a few days after Nadig’s upset win in the downhill, the giant slalom shaped up as almost a personal duel between Proll, again the favorite, and Nadig. Proll posted a 1:30.75 time that looked good enough to win…at least it was a second and a half better than anyone else. But as she had done in the downhill, Nadig was even better, turning in a 1:29.7 that beat Proll by three-quarters of a second.

Deborah Compagnoni, Italy, 1992 women’s super giant slalom, -2.62: Compagnoni was one of several plausible contenders in what was viewed as an open field. They all, however, initially took a back seat to the French champion, Carole Merle, who posted a 1:22.63 that was more than a second faster than any of the early runs. Skating late in the first group, Compagnoni lowered Merle’s time by another 1.4 seconds, handily claiming the gold medal. Her victory came just in time; one day later, in the first run of the giant slalom, she suffered a disabling knee injury.

Sigrid Wolf, Austria, 1988 women’s super giant slalom, -2.67: Wolf was a highly regarded veteran of the ski circuit when she won the inaugural super G at Calgary. She finished a full second ahead of her nearest challenger, the same margin separating the silver medalist from 10th place.

Kathy Kreiner, Canada, 1976 women’s giant slalom, -2.69: Kreiner was only 18 when she breezed down the mountain at Innsbruck, her shocking 1:29.13 time effectively killing Rosi Mittermaier’s bid for a gold medal sweep. The race was a two-person battle in all but the literal sense. Kreiner finished one-tenth of a second ahead of Mittermaier, who in turn finished eight-tenths of a second ahead of the bronze medalist. There was larger gap between Kreiner and the bronze medalist than there was between the bronze medalist and the 10th place finisher.

Katia Seizinger, Germany, 1994 women’s downhill, -2.78: The event’s favorite, Austrian Ulrike Maier, had been killed three weeks earlier during a downhill race, leaving Seizinger as a prohibitive favorite. She also entered as the reigning World Cup champion in both the downhill and Super G. Seizinger lived up to the billing, beating back the challenge of American Picabo Street, the silver medalist, by more than a half second. She would repeat her downhill victory at Nagano in 1998, picking up a third gold in the combined at Nagano as well.

Deborah Compagnoni, Italy, 1994 women’s giant slalom, -2.79: Two years after her crippling fall in the 1992 giant slalom (see above), Compagnoni returned at Lillehammer as a favorite. She more than lived up to the role, posting a first run that was three quarters of a second better than anyone else, and winning the second run as well. She would add a third career gold in the giant slalom at the 1998 Olympics at Nagano.

Nancy Greene, Canada, 1968 women’s giant slalom, -2.80: Greene was a veteran of three Olympics and a former Canadian athlete of the year when she took to the starting gate in what would be her final Olympic race. It was a flawless run; she beat the best of her competitors’ times by two and one-half seconds to claim the gold, then retired to a life of skiing celebrity and public service. Named Canadian athlete of the year for a second time, she and her husband opened a successful resort, she worked on numerous federal sports task forces, and in 2008 she was named to the Canadian Senate.

Madeleine Berthod, Switzerland, 1956 women’s downhill, -3.05: A veteran of the 1952 Games at Oslo, Berthod was the sixth skier down the Tofana course, staring at a strong 1:45.9 time by Canadian Lucille Wheeler. Her flawless run stunned spectators and officials, shaving more than five seconds off Wheeler’s performance. When the remaining 38 competitors completed their runs, only one other skier – teammate Frieda Danzer – had bettered Wheeler, but at 1:45.4 even she failed to approach Berthod’s time. For Berthod, the gold medal outcome was made more perfect by the fact that it came on her 25th birthday.

Methodology: Scores are based on the standard deviation of each team’s net goals per game. Step 1: Divide the number of goals scored by each team by the number of games played by that team. Step 2: Repeat the process with each team’s goals allowed. Step 3: Subtract goals per game allowed from goals per game scored. Step 4. For each team, calculate the standard deviation of the difference. The illustration below, from the 2014 men’s competition, illustrates the methodology:

Team Games Goals G/G Allowed GA/G Diff SD

Canada 6 17 2.83 3 0.50 2.33 1.17

Finland 6 24 4.00 10 1.67 2.33 1.17

Sweden 6 17 2.83 9 1.50 1.33 0.67

USA 6 20 3.33 12 2.00 1.33 0.67

Russia 5 13 2.60 8 1.60 1.00 0.50

Switzerland 4 3 0.75 4 1.00 -0.25 -0.13

Czech Rep. 5 13 2.60 15 3.00 -0.40 -0.20

Latvia 5 9 1.80 13 2.60 -0.80 -0.40

Slovenia 5 10 2.00 16 3.20 -1.20 -0.60

Slovakia 4 5 1.25 16 4.00 -2.75 -1.38

Austria 4 7 1.75 19 4.75 -3.00 -1.50

Norway 4 3 0.75 16 4.00 -3.25 -1.63

Summary: The most noteworthy aspect of this list is the relatively loose correlation between dominating and actually winning a gold medal. Of the 25 teams on this list, 10 – including three ranked among the top 10 – DID NOT win a gold medal. Digging deeper: Since 1920, there have been 28 gold medalist teams, including both men’s and women’s. Twelve are not included on this list, yet four teams that finished behind those 12 ARE on the list. What should one make of this seeming anomaly? That there is a difference between dominating and winning; in other words, that luck plays an inordinate role in determining the hockey gold medalist. Nine of the 25 represented the USSR, Russia, or the Unified team, and seven represented Canada. Of the remaining nine, four are from the United States, two are from Finland and one each are from the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Sweden. Since women’s hockey began in 1998, seven women’s teams have made the list.

1964 Sweden, 1.29: Sweden had not won an Olympic medal since 1952, and hopes were dimmed by an early 3-1 loss to Canada. But when Czechoslovakia surprised Canada 3-1 in the tournament’s semi-finals, Sweden’s final game with the Czechs became a battle for the silver medal. Sweden won that game 8-3, demonstrating the dominance that allowed them to outscore opponents 47-16 over seven games.

1972 USSR, 1.30: Seven members of the gold medal 1968 team returned for 1972, but the big addition was goalie Vladislav Tretiak, considered among the world’s best – amateur or pro. Theoretically the final game with Czechoslovakia decided the gold medal, but once that game began it was no contest. The Soviets led 4-0 after one period and were never threatened.

1988 USSR, 1.34: As in 1984, the Soviets brought a team loaded with experienced pros and beat up their amateur competition. They breezed through group play outscoring four opponents 32-10. In the final round they shut out Canada 5-0 and routed Sweden 7-1. The outcomes were so decisive that even a 2-1 defeat to Finland in the tournament’s final game could not dislodge the Soviets’ grip on the gold medal.

T-20. 2002 United States women, 1.35: As with the inaugural women’s tournament in 1998, this one was basically a showdown between the Americans and the Canadians. The U.S. team outscored its overmatched opponents 31-1 in the prelims, setting up the expected final, which Canada won (see below).

T-20. 2010 United States women, 1.35: In what had become an ongoing Canada-U.S. battle for women’s Olympic supremacy, the Americans put their back-to-back world championships on the line against the Canadians’ three straight Olympic golds. As usual, the U.S. walked through the preliminary games, wining against overmatched opponents by scores of 12-1, 13-0 and 6-0. In the semis, Sweden proved equally overmatched, the U.S. getting off 46 shots, allowing just 12, and winning 9-1. But in the final, the Americans had no better luck against Canada than they had in 2002 or 2010, failing to score in a 2-0 defeat.

1992. Unified Team, 1.35: The Soviet Union no longer existed and its former component parts had not yet established their full independence, so they competed as a “Unified Team.” They appeared vulnerable when the Czechs handed them a rare 4-3 defeat in a preliminary contest. It was an anomaly; the combined team recovered to route France, Switzerland and Norway by a combined 24-2, then routing Finland 6-1 in the quarter-final. They polished off the United States 5-2 in the semis, and wrapped up the gold with a 4-2 win over Canada.

1998 Czech Republic, 1.41: The Czechs pulled off a gold medal upset equivalent to the US victories of 1960 and 1980. Entering the competition, American and Canadian teams featuring rosters laden with NHL stars – Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros, Patrick Roy, Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios, Brett Hull, Jeremy Roenick, Mike Modano, Ray Bourque – were prohibitive favorites to battle for the gold. But the Czechs had a few weapons of their own including Jaromir Jagr and Petr Svoboda. They survived a difficult preliminary field that included Russia – which beat them 2-1 – to advance to the quarter-finals, where they were paired against the U.S. In that game Jagr’s goal led a 4-1 Czech upset. The semi-final against Canada went to a shootout, which Robert Reichel’s goal won and Dominik Hasek’s goaltending made stand up. Hasek was superb again in the final, won 1-0 on Svoboda’s goal midway through the third period.

2006 Finland, 1.42: In a tournament cast as more openly competitive than had historically been the case, the Finns got off to a dominant start. They defeated five preliminary opponents by a combined 19-2, those outcomes including 2-0 victory over Canada. A quarter-final showdown with the United States went to Finland 4-3; in the semis Antero Nittymaki shut out the Russians 4-0. Sweden won the gold medal game 3-2, overcoming the Finns’ advantage in having the tournament’s two leading scorers in Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu.

2002 United States, 1.43: Canada beat the U.S. 5-2 in the gold medal game, but statistically the U.S. had slightly the more dominant team. In the semis, the U.S. got past Russia 3-2. That set up a final against the Canadians, whose play to that point had been marked with inconsistency. In three preliminary games, they had a one-goal win over Germany, a tie with the Czech Republic, and a 5-2 loss at the hands of Sweden. But when Belarus upset Sweden in the quarter-finals, the path was cleared for a Canada-U.S. final, which the Canadians won 5-2 on two-goal performances by Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla. Even so, the U.S. team’s dominance rating remained twice as high as Canada’s 0.72 rating.

2002 Canada women, 1.45: In its second Olympic head-to-head battle with the United States, Canada swept through preliminary play without a challenge, outscoring four opponents by a staggering 32-3. The Canadians controlled the gold medal game, scoring early and never trailing on the way to a 3-2 victory.

1984 USSR, 1.51: For a second time in 20 years, the Soviets returned from a major upset in the previous Olympics with restoration of their reputations at the forefront. To accomplish their goal, they brought a team laden with former or future NHL stars, players of the stripe of Vyacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov and Vladimir Myshkin. The Soviets’ only legitimate challenge came from the equally professional Czechs, who also advanced to the final undefeated and essentially unchallenged. The USSR won that title game 2-0.

1952 Canada, 1.53: The Canadians had lost only one Olympic hockey tournament since 1920, and there would be no break in that dominance in 1952. An Edmonton-based team represented the country, outscoring foes 71-14 through eight games. The only blot on their record was a 3-3 tie with the U.S. silver medalists, a result which – given an earlier U.S. defeat — secured the gold medal.

2014 United States women, 1.54: Annually frustrated by Canada since their gold medal in the inaugural 1998 tournament, the U.S. team regrouped for a 2014 competition made more lively by the teams’ placement in the same preliminary bracket. After both teams won their two opening games, they met to determine placing for the final round, the U.S. losing 3-2. In the semis, the Americans routed Sweden 6-1, setting up a rematch with Canada for the gold. Through two periods, the U.S. led 2-0 with Jessie Vetter working on a shutout. All that blew up in a third period dominated by Canada, which won 3-2. Unlike in previous Canadian victories, the U.S. this time had slightly the better dominance rating.

1994 Finland, 1.55: How Finland managed not to win the 1994 gold medal ought to puzzle researchers into Finnish sports history for decades to come. Through five qualifying games, the Finns outscored their opponents 25-4, defeating Russia 5-0, Norway 4-0 and Germany 7-1. They beat the United States 6-1 in the quarter-final, sending them against a Canadian team that had lost to Slovakia and been tied by the U.S. In that semi-final, the Finns took a quick 2-0 lead that looked even larger given the team’s defense, which had allowed just five goals to that point. In the second period, however, Canada finally broke through, rallying for a surprising 5-3 victory that consigned the Finns to the bronze medal game. In that game, the Finns snapped out of their brief doldrum, shutting out Russia 4-0. Sweden, whose dominance rating for the tournament was less than half as strong as Finland, beat Canada in overtime to win the gold medal.

1924 Canada, 1.59: This Canadian team ran roughshod over the duration of its five-game schedule, averaging 22 goals per game while allowing a total of just three. In two of the five games, Canada topped 30 goals. The final, pitting Canada against the United States, went to the Canadians 6-1.

T-8. 1998 Russia, 1.64: In the fully professional atmosphere put in place prior to the start of the 1998 games, Russia seemed suddenly an underdog; both the Canadian and American rosters featured more actual NHL stars. The Russians eased through three preliminary games, outscoring opponents 15-6, eliminated Belarus 4-1 in the quarter-finals, and advanced to the gold medal game with a 7-4 win over Finland. In the final they met a surprising Czech Republic team that had eliminated both of the pre-tournament favorites (see above). The game was scoreless midway through the final period when the Czechs scored what proved to be the game’s only goal. Despite the medal distribution, the Russians actually were the more dominant team.

T-8. 1980 USSR, 1.64: Famously upset by Herb Brooks’ American upstarts, the Russian team had to content itself with less than a gold medal for the first time since 1960. That does not change the math: The Soviets were still the more dominant team. They scored 63 goals; the Americans scored half that number. The Russians did give up 17 goals to the USA’s 15, but at 0.64 America’s dominance score was actually only third best in the tournament, and was the weakest showing in history by a gold medal winner. The Soviets raced through their preliminary games, winning by margins of 16-0, 17-4, and 8-1, then defeating Sweden 9-2 in the bronze medal game. The only thing they couldn’t do was beat an inspired USA team on a given day.

2010 Canada women, 1.73: As dominant as ever, the 2010 Canadian women won its preliminary games 18-0, 10-1 and 13-1, then blanked Finland 5-0 in the semi-final. In the final, goalie Shannon Szabados stopped 18 shots and Marie-Phillippe Poulin scored twice within three minutes of the opening period.

1968 USSR, 1.84: Heavily favored to repeat their 1964 gold medal, the Soviets were upset by the Czechs in a politically charged game presaging that nation’s spring uprising. Only a final draw between the Czechs and Sweden opened the door to the Soviets, who had to defeat Canada to win the gold. In that do-or-die situation, the Soviets rose to the occasion, winning 5-0. They outscored opponents 48-10.

1936 Canada, 1.90: This team, based in Winnipeg, should have won the Olympic gold, but had to settle for a silver medal instead. In its eight games, Canada scored 54 goals and allowed just seven. But the Canadians were upset 2-1 by Great Britain in the semi-finals, and Great Britain earned the goal medal a day later by completing a scoreless tie with the United States. With a 1.90 dominance rating, compared to Great Britain’s 0.65, Canada was far and away the superior team.

1964 USSR, 1.96: Following their upset defeat by the United States at Squaw Valley, the Soviet team came to Innsbruck inspired to cement its reputation as the true successor to Canada’s dominance. The outcome revolved around the final game, between Canada and the Russians. Canada led 2-1 halfway through, but the USSR scored a late second-period goal and moved ahead with a score early in the third period. The defeat dropped Canada all the way out of medal position. The Soviets scored 54 goals in their seven games and allowed just 10.

1976 USSR, 2.04: The Soviets won a fourth consecutive gold medal, equaling Canada’s accomplishment between 1920 and 1932. For four games the Soviets seemed invincible, outscoring their opponents 37-7. Yet in the gold medal match, the underdog Czechs appeared on the verge of an upset, clinging to a 3-2 lead late in the game. But with five minutes left, the Soviets scored twice to secure the gold.

2006 Canada women, 2.64: This was the third installment of the decade-long battle between the American and Canadian teams, and for a third time Canada prevailed. As in previous Olympics, the Canadians made an extended practice of their preliminary games, beating Italy 16-0, Russia 12-0 and Sweden 8-1. Finland fell 6-0 in the semis, and when Sweden surprised the U.S. in the other semi Canada for the first time faced a European opponent for the gold. They won 4-1. For the tournament, Canada outscored its opponents by a stunning 46-2, registering more goals than any two opponents combined.

1928 Canada, 2.99: Seeded directly into the final round, the Canadians as a consequence played just three games. That was enough; they won those games by scores of 11-0, 14-0 and 13-0. Like several of the best amateur teams in that era, the Canadians had the advantage of experience. The team had represented Toronto University, and following graduation remained a unit in preparation for the Olympics.

The 25 best Olympic figure skating performances

Methodology: Scores are based on the standard deviation of each skater’s or pair’s performance compared to the standard deviation of the scores of his or her fellow competitors. Scoring systems have changed frequently, sometimes rewarding the lower scores, and sometimes rewarding the higher scores, sometimes based on ordinals, sometimes based on other formulae. For that reason, during Olympiads when the scoring system was such that the lower score was better, the values were reversed to ensure consistency through time. The illustration below, from the 2014 men’s singles competition, illustrates the methodology. The average of all competitors in 2014 was 238.19; the standard deviation was 21.78:

Pl. Athlete, Nation Score Std. Dev.

Yuzuru Janyu, South Korea 09 1.92

Patrick Chan, Canada 62 1.72

Denis Ten, Kazakhstan 10 0.78

Javier Fernandez, Spain 92 0.72

Tatsuki Machida, Japan 42 0.70

Daisuke Takahashi, Japan 67 0.57

Yan Han, China 20 0.37

Peter Liebers, Germany 87 0.08

Jason Brown, USA 37 0.01

Michael Brezina, Czech Rep. 62 -0.21

Tomas Verner, Czech Rep. 99 -0.24

Jeremy Abbott, USA 70 -0.25

Brian Joubert, France 77 -0.29

Alexandre Majorev, Sweden 86 -0.61

Kevin Reynolds, Canada 23 -0.73

Jorik Hendrickx, Belgium 04 -1.11

Misha Ge, Uzbekistan 26 -1.60

Florent Amodio, France 64 -1.82

Summary: As befits public interest, this list is dominated by women’s singles competitors. Of the top 25 – actually 26 since there is a three-way tie for 24th — 15 participated in the women’s singles event. There are six representatives from men’s singles, three pairs teams and two ice dancing teams. Three skaters made the list despite winning only silver medals; all three, obviously, were up against one of the all-time greats. Carol Heiss is on the list twice, for her silver medal winning performance in 1956 and her gold medal victory in 1960. But Heiss isn’t the only multiple entrant; Norway’s legendary Sonja Henie qualifies for her victories in 1928, 1932 and 1936. A few prominent names from figure skating history are notably absent. East Germany’s Katerina Witt dominated skating in the 1980s, winning gold medals in 1984 and again in 1988. But the standard deviation of her best performance only reached 1.62. Gillis Grafstrom from Sweden was a three-time champion between 1920 and 1928, but his dominance rating never exceeded 1.64. The Soviet Union’s Irina Rodnina won three golds in pairs in 1972, 1976 and 1980, but her best performance only achieved a 1.73 standard deviation. For Rodnina, the problem may have lay in the ordinal-based scoring system in force at the time; that system considered only each judge’s rank of the competitors. It specifically did not consider the extent of their superiority. In other years, the system has factored in degrees of exceptionality; possibly as a result, pairs from 1964, 2006 and 2014 as well as dance teams from 2010 and 2014 are on the list.

T-24. Liudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, Soviet Union, 1964 pairs, -1.81: The Protopopovs – husband and wife – were pairs skating legends, winning Olympic golds in 1964 and 1968, and claiming four consecutive world championships in the mid 1960s. Their victory – the first by a Russian individual or team in Olympic history – came at the height of the Cold War, and was inevitably controversial. While five of the judges – including the American judge – voted the couple first, four did not, preferring the German silver medalists. The couple started a dynasty that lasted longer than the USSR itself; a Russian team won every succeeding pairs competition for the next 42 years, through 2006.

T-24. Maxim Trankov and Tatiana Volozozhar, Russia, 2014 pairs, 1.81: Trankov and Volozhar faced the unusual burden of having to restore the Russian domination of the pairs event following that nation’s first defeat since 1960 four years earlier in Vancouver. They dominated the short program, taking a five point lead over the field, and followed up with a nine-point victory in the free skate.

T-24. Regine Heitzer, Austria, 1964 women’s singles, 1.81: Heitzer failed to win the 1964 gold medal because veteran Dutch skater Sjoukje Dijkstra returned from her silver medal 1960 showing having learned enough to advance that final notch on the podium – see below. Heitzer emerged with the silver in a close battle with Canada’s Petra Burka, capturing five second place votes to Burka’s four.

Adelina Sotnikova, Russia, 2014 women’s singles, 1.83: Russian dominance in figure skating had not traditionally extended to the women’s singles – an event no woman from that country had ever won. Sotnikova finished the short program in second place, fractions behind South Korea’s Kim Yuna but only fractions ahead of Italy’s Carolina Kostner. That made the free skate decisive, and Sotnikova showed her superiority, finishing five points ahead of Yuna – the silver medalist – with Kostner winning the bronze.

Tatyana Totmyanina and Maksim Marinen, Russia, 2006 pairs, 1.84: As two-time world champions, Totmyanina and Marinen were favored, but they faced a strong challenge from their four-year rivals, the Chinese pair of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo. The challenge never really developed, Totymianina and Marinen seizing a four-point lead in the short program while Xue and Hongbo lingered in fifth place. The Russians swept the scoring components, and – given their conceded edge in the long program – all but ensured their gold. They ratified that judgment with a dominant free skate, winning that portion of the event by 10 points.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada, 2010 ice dancing, 1.85: The Vancouver competition was expected to be a tight battle among teams from Russia, USA and the host country. But the Russian team may have hampered its chances with a routine featuring aboriginal costumes that some saw as racially insensitive. When Virtue and Moir delivered a more polished free dance performance than the Americans, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, they emerged with the narrow victory.

Carol Heiss, United States, 1956 women’s singles, 1.87: Heiss was only 16 when she made the 1956 team, yet she mounted a strong challenge to her more experienced teammate, Tenley Albright. Ten of the 11 judges put Heiss in the silver medal position; the 11th, the American judge, would have given her the gold. Heiss lost to Albright by a mere 28 points; the bronze medalist trailed her by 95.

Gabriele Seyfert, East Germany, 1968 women’s singles, 1.89: Seyfert had the supreme misfortune to skate against Peggy Fleming, and she paid the price for her temerity. Even so, her performance was superb, compiling 1,882 points, 200 more than the average of her competitors. She was the unanimous silver medal selection.

Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan, 2014 men’s singles, 1.92: Hanyu’s technical superiority enabled him to come out of the short program with a solid four-point advantage over Canada’s Patrick Chan, and also gave him a decisive advantage in the free skate, in which he narrowly led Chan. The combination was a clear win for the first Asian male to win the Olympic men’s singles.

Cecilia Colledge, Great Britain, 1936 women’s singles, 1.93: Colledge was a controversial runner-up to Henie, not so much for her routine as for her gestures. In an apparent attempt to win support from the crowd at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen rink, the 15-year-old British girl entered giving the Nazi salute, a signal seen as warming on site but foolish elsewhere. Colledge’s routine never threatened the ongoing Henie hegemony, but it was good enough to persuade six of the judges to vote her the silver medal; the Austrian judge even accorded her joint gold medal status with Henie. Her score of 2,926.8 points would have won gold at any of the preceding Olympics.

T-14. Charlie White and Meryl Davis, United States, 2014 ice dancing, 1.95: Edged out by Virtue and Moir in 210, White and Davis returned in 2014 for what amounted to a rematch. They won the short dance, defeating Virtue and Moir by 2.6 points, giving them a cushion they did not need in the free dance, which they also won by two points. The result was a world record score of 195.52. This time Virtue and Moir took the silver.

T-14. Manfred Schnelldorfer, Germany, 1964 men’s singles, 1.95: Schnelldorfer came to figure skating from roller skating, and made the smoothest of transitions. Coming off an eighth place finish at Squaw Valley in 1960, he defeated French champion Alain Calmat by 40 points, and American Scotty Allen by 43. Schnelldorfer was the choice of six of the nine judges, the French and American judges both selecting their countrymen. To the extent the contest was close, it was due to th Italian judge, who voted Schnelldorfer third behind both Calmat and Allen.

T-14. Sonja Henie, Norway, 1932 women’s singles, 1.95: The outcome in 1932 was a foregone conclusion, Henie as defending champion receiving the first place votes of all seven judges. Her margin over silver medalist Fritzi Burger was 135 points, greater than the margin between the silver medalist and the fifth place finisher.

Shizuka Arakawa, Japan, 2006 women’s singles, 2.00: Arakawa entered the Olympics as a second-level figure given only a marginal chance to compete with 2002 silver medalist Irena Slutskaya and American Sasha Cohen. She finished a strong third less than a point behind Cohen and Slutskaya in the short program, and five points clear of the skater in fourth place. That made the free skate decisive for the three front runners. Arakawa skated first, incorporating five triple jumps into a clean program. When both Cohen and Slutskaya failed to match Arakawa’s perfection, she had jumped into the gold medal position, winning six of the seven scoring components and finishing second to Cohen in the last.

T-11. Ondrej Nepela, Czechoslovakia, 1972 men’s singles, 2.03: Competing in his third Olympics in 1972,Nepela outlasted a tight field that included prominent Americans Ken Shelley and John Misha Petkovich. Strong in the compulsory figures, he built enough of a lead to survive a fourth place showing in the free skate and win the gold, getting the votes of all nine judges.

T-11. Tenley Albright, United States, 1956 women’s singles, 2.03: The 1952 silver medalist, Albright appeared beset by ill fortune as the Games approached. A severe foot injury sustained less than two weeks before practice jeopardized her favorite’s status and her ability to compete. Fortunately for Albright her father, a practicing surgeon, was able to repair the damage well enough to allow her to skate. She was a near unanimous gold medal choice, picking up the first place votes of 10 of the 11 judges. That enabled her to edge out teammate Carol Heiss by 18 points.

Karl Schafer, Austria, 1936 men’s singles, 2.05: Schafer was the defending champion and a clear favorite to repeat in a field that lacked depth following the retirement of Swedish star Gillis Grafstrom. He was the gold medal choice of all seven judges, no other competitor receiving more than two second place selections. His winning margin of 154 points was larger than the margin separating second from eighth.

Dick Button, United States, 1948 men’s singles, 2.09: Button’s first of two golds – he would also win in 1952 – came as a minor upset, Button out-pointing world champion Hans Gerschwiler of Switzerland. He did it by completing a rare (for the time) double axel jump, so impressing the judges that eight of the nine – all but the one from Gerschwiler’s homeland – gave Button the gold. Button’s winning margin was 90 points.

Sonja Henie, 1928 women’s singles, 2.15: Henie was not yet 15 when she won her first gold, yet she was already an Olympic veteran, having taken part in the 1924 competition. From the seven judges, Henie was the first place choice of six, the American judge voting her second behind the American bronze medalist. As she would do in 1932, Austrian Fritzi Burger finished second, but a distant 204 points behind Henie.

Sonja Henie, 1936 women’s singles, 2.18: Henie’s third consecutive gold medal was only slightly less taken for granted than the first two. This time she was the nearly unanimous choice, the Austrian judge splitting first place between Henie and Britain’s Cecilia Colledge.

Carol Heiss, United States, 1960 women’s singles, 2.26: Coming off her 1956 silver medal showing as a teen, the more mature Heiss was a strong gold medal favorite at Squaw Valley. Once competition began, the outcome became a spirited three-way competition among Heiss, Sjoukje Dijkstra of Netherlands, and American Barbara Ann Roles. In the end, though, Heiss gained all nine first place rankings, defeating Dijkstra by 76 points, with Roles 10 points farther back in thebronze medal spot.

Barbara Scott, Canada, 1948 women’s singles, 2.27: The first non-European to win a figure skating gold medal, Scott edged out American Dick Button for that honor because the women’s event was held first on the card. But the outcome was no surprise, Scott entering as the reigning world champion. Seven of the nine judges selected Scott, the other two both voting her second.

Kim Yuna, Korea, 2010 women’s singles, 2.41: The defending world champion, Kim was a clear favorite for the gold medal, and her performance left no doubt about the outcome. She won the short program with a display of technical superiority, sweeping the component judging and seizing a seven-point lead entering the free skate. In that free skate, she reprised her sweep of the components, posting an overall score that was 19 points better than any of her competitors. Yuna’s overall 23-point margin of victory set a scoring record.

Sjoukje Dijkstra, Netherlands, 1964 women’s singles, 2.43: Defeated by Heiss in 1960, Dijkstra returned in 1964 as a two-time world champion and with such an overwhelming reputation for technical execution that her perceived shortcomings in expression could be looked past. The judges found sufficient personality in Dijkstra’s free skate that they gave her unanimous gold medal support.

Yevgeny Plushenko, Russia, 2006 men’s singles, 2.65: Plushenko had been a co-favorite at Salt Lake City in 2002, but skated poorly and was probably fortunate to come away with the silver. That did not, however, diminish his standing entering the competition at Turin; in fact his reputation was enhanced by implementation of a new judging system that was seen as favoring Plushenko. He built a 10-point lead in the short program and ended up winning by 27 points in a competition that was otherwise extremely close. In fact Plushenko’s margin of victory was greater than the margin separating second and eighth places. His 2.65 dominance rating is far and away the most dominant among male skaters.

Peggy Fleming, United States, 1968 women’s singles, 2.69: Her sixth place finish at the Innsbruck games fueled Fleming’s drive to win the gold medal at Grenoble in 1968. As a five-time U.S. champion and three-time world champion, she took the ice with stunning credentials, and by the end of the compulsory figures portion of the event – which Fleming won – little doubt remained regarding the outcome. The nine judges unanimous voted for Fleming, her margin over silver medalist Gabriele Seyfert eventually growing to 92 points. That’s even more impressive than it sounds because Seyfert’s margin over the bronze medalist was an additional 60 points. Among the 27 best skaters in the world, the average score was 1,673.26 points; Fleming exceeded that by nearly 300 points.

The 25 most dominant performances

in Olympic speed skating history

Methodology: Each Olympian’s rating is based on the standard deviation of his or her time – calculated in seconds — measured against the average of the first 30 finishers unless there are fewer than 30 competitors, or unless a competitor finishes more than one-half standard deviation behind the competitor immediately ahead of them. If the latter occurs, his or her time and those of all subsequent competitors are not considered. However, at least 10 competitors’ times must be considered unless there were fewer than 10 competitors. The following example, from the 1994 men’s 1,000 meter race famously won by American Dan Jansen, illustrates the method. The field average was 74.44; the standard deviation was 0.91 seconds:

Place Entrant Nation Seconds St. Dev.

Dan Jansen USA 43 -2.21

Igor Zhelezovsky Bul 72 -1.89

Sergey Klevchenya Rus 85 -1.75

Hongbo Liu Chn 47 -1.07

Sylvain Bouchard Can 56 -0.97

Patrick Kelly Can 67 -0.85

Roger Strom Nor 74 -0.77

Junichi Inoue Jpn 75 -0.76

Gerard VanVelde Ned 81 -0.69

Kevin Scott Can 82 -0.68

Toshiyuki Kuroiwa Jpn 95 -0.54

Roland Brunner Aut 08 -0.40

Peter Adeberg Ger 15 -0.32

Yukinori Miyabe Jpn 28 -0.18

Nico Van Der Vlies Ned 29 -0.16

Sean Ireland Can 31 -0.14

Aleksandr Golubev Rus 78 0.37

Yoon-Man Kim Kor 97 0.58

Hiroyasu Shimizu Jpn 01 0.63

Vadim Shakshakbayev Kaz 06 0.68

Nathaniel Mills USA 11 0.74

Arie Loef Ned 12 0.75

Magnus Enfeldt Swe 18 0.81

Arjan Schreuder Ned 19 0.82

Roberto Sighel Ita 35 1.00

Andrey Bakhalov Rus 36 1.01

Michael Spielmann Ger 41 1.07

Lars Funke Ger 44 1.10

Hans Markstrom Swe 50 1.16

Alessandro DeTaddi Ita 62 1.30

David Besteman USA 62 1.30

The 500 meters: The 500 meter sprint skate was first run in 1924. Through 1994, it was exactly what its name implies: a sprint of 500 meters. Beginning at Nagano in 1998, however, the format was changed, the winner being determined by his or her total time over a pair of 500 meter heats. Due to the format change, a fair comparison across eras requires that the times since 1994 be recalculated as an “average” before calculating the standard deviation of those averages. The resulting differences in results are trivial, but they exist.

Disclaimer: Our perceptions of the strength of individuals (or teams) can be colored by factors that are extraneous to their actual dominance: general familiarity, the presence or absence of attention-getting personalities, national affinities, subjective opinions that become engrained over time, superiority in certain statistical categories being the most likely. This rating is based on an objective methodology, meaning that it is immune to influence from any of those criteria. That also means its findings may vary – in some cases substantially – from the historical consensus. As you scan this list, be prepared to have your presumptions of relative greatness challenged.

Ids Postma, Netherlands, 1998 1,000 meters, 70.64 seconds, -2.24: Postma was a stunning upset winner at Nagano. A threat at 1,500 meters, he finished second in his specialty, and three days later entered the 1,000 as a novice. Postma’s 70.64 was a full second better than his previous best at that distance, edging teammate and favorite Jan Bos in Olympic record time.

Ard Schenk, Netherlands, 1972 1,500 meters, 122.96 seconds, -2.24: Schenk is one of the legends of Olympic skating, a three-time gold medalist at the 1972 Sapporo games. So it may be surprising that Schenk’s name appears only once on the top 25 list, and not very far up on it. At 6-4 and 200 lbs., Schenk was an imposing figure on the international skating tour, and as a three-time world all-around champion his intimidation factor was well-earned. In the early 1970s Schenk held virtually every speed skating world record. In the 1,500 meter race, his Olympic record time was 1.3 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

Andrea Mitscherlich, East Germany 1988, 3,000 meters, 252.09 seconds, -2.26: Mitscherlich is one of nine women on the top 25 list, and one of only two non-gold medalists. The defending gold medalist from the 1984 Sarajevo games as Andrea Ehrig, the newly married Mitscherlich toed the start line as a favorite, raced steadily and posted a world record time that bettered the previous standard by four and one-half seconds on her way to one of an eventual five silvers she would win along with one bronze.

Ids Postma, Netherlands, 1998 1,500 meters, 108.13 seconds, -2.27: Postma is one of only two skaters to hold more than one place on the top 25 roster. Like Mitscherlich, his exceptional effort was good enough only for second place behind Andre Sondral…more on Sondral in a few paragraphs. Whether Postma might have caught Sondral is problematic, but the fact that he broke the existing world record in defeat – and did so despite stumbling over a cone on the final lap – is testimony to the exceptionality of his performance. The surprising twist to Postma’s 1,000-1,500 double at Nagano is this: the all-time list is littered with multiple gold medalists, only a couple of whom have more than one appearance on the list. Postma’s 22nd and 25th place performances represent the only two medal finishes of his Olympic career.

Yvonne Van Gennip, Netherlands, 1988 3,000 meters, 251.94 seconds, -2.28: Trailing Mitscherlich’s new world record time entering the final lap, Van Gennip summoned the strength to make up nearly a full second on her foe, lowering the previous world record by nearly five seconds to 4:11.94. That mark would stand for a decade. It was one of Van Gennip’s three gold medals at Calgary; she also won the 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter events.

Derek Parra, USA, 2002 1,500 meters, 103.95 seconds, -2.28: Parra’s Olympic gold was the definitional reward for managing frustration. Four years earlier at Nagano, he had been bumped from the 5,000 meter race when a clerical error revealed that a Kazakhstanian had actually qualified faster. He posted a world record time in the 2002 5K, but Jochem Uytdehagge later bettered it. They met again several days later in the 1,500 meter and Parra got his revenge, wiping out Uytdehaage’s world record with one of his own.

Gianni Romme, Netherlands, 1998 5,000 meters, 382.2 seconds, -2.29: Romme won both the 5,000 and 10,000 at Nagano, but his 5K performance stood out. Romme beat the runner-up, teammate Rintje Ritsma, by more than six seconds. That was greater than the margin separating Ritsma from the fifth place finisher and established a new world record.

Viktor Kosichkin, USSR, 1960 5,000 meters, 471.3 seconds, -2.32: At Squaw Valley, Kosichkin was the only skater to break eight minutes in the 5K, and he did it by nearly nine seconds. Again, a positional comparison puts that in perspective. The margin between Kosichkin and the runner-up was greater than the margin between the runner-up and the skater who finished eighth.

Hiroyasu Shimizu, Japan, 1998 500 meters, 71.35 seconds, -2.33: Of the 25 most dominant speed skating performances in Olympic history, Shimizu’s is the only one not authored by a skater from Europe or North America. It was also only the second gold medal ever won by a Japanese skater, and the race’s location in Japan placed an additional cultural burden on Shimizu. He posted an Olympic record 35.76 second time that would have won the gold medal under rules in effect through 1994. For Nagano, however, officials had changed the rules to base the 500 meter gold medal on two runs rather than just one. That meant Shimizu had to reprise his performance a day later…which he did with another Olympic record of 35.59.

Liydia Skoblikova, USSR, 1964 1,500 meters, 142.60 seconds, -2.33: Probably the most best known female skater in Olympic history, Skoblikova won six gold medals, sweeping the four events at Innsbruck. Of those, her performance in the 1,500 meters was the most dominant; her Olympic record time of 2:22.6 was nearly three seconds ahead of the runner-up. For comparison, her world record performance in the same event at Squaw Valley had won by a half second. Skoblikova would go on to become a successful coach.

Jochem Uytdehaage, Netherlands, 2002 5,000 meters, 374.66 seconds, -2.34: Uytdehaage’s rivalry with American Derek Parra has already been noted. He was the dominant distance skater of his time, having set Olympic records in both of those events. In the 5K, he began with a killing 30 second per lap pace that he somehow maintained, eventually lowering the world record by more than four seconds.

Boris Shilkov, USSR, 1956 5,000 meters, 468.7 seconds, -2.34: Already the world record holder at 5,000 meters, Shilkov buried the field at Cortina to win by eight seconds in an Olympic record 7:51.3. Between 1955 and 1960, he was generally considered the dominant speed skater in the world.

Anne Henning, United States, 1972 500 meters, 43.33 seconds,-2.36: Henning literally won this race twice. She was paired with Canadian Sylvia Burka, who interfered with her at the crossover, forcing Henning off her pace. She recovered and posted a 43.7 second time, good enough to win. Because Burka was disqualified, Henning – with the Olympic gold already secured — was permitted a rerun, which she translated into a new record of 44.33.

Johann Olav Koss, Netherlands, 1994 1,500 meters, 111.29 seconds, -2.37: Koss is the only skater with three times among the best 25. A four-time gold medalist, he won three of them at Lillehammer, all in world record times. In the 1,500 meters he was fifth at the halfway mark but buried his closest competitors on the closing two laps.

Jorien Ter Mors, Netherlands, 2014 1,500 meters, 113.51 seconds, -2.41: Ter Mors was a short-track specialist who never ranked higher than seventh in any long track event, and qualified only third on her own team. So her gold medal at the 2014 Games came as something of a surprise. Leading a Dutch sweep of the event, she buried defending champion Irene Wust by a half second and Lotte Van Beek by a full second; she was nearly three seconds ahead of the best finisher from any other country in the world.

Tomas Gustafson, Sweden, 1988 10,000 meters, 828.4 seconds, -2.41: Gustafson was already a two-time gold medalist, having won the 5,000 four years earlier at Saravejo and four days earlier at Calgary, when he took the start in the 10K. It was no contest, Gustafson building what eventually became nearly an eight-second margin over the runner-up. He is the only Swede among the top 25 in speed skating.

Bonnie Blair, United States, 1994 1,000 meters, 78.74 seconds, -2.42: Blair is the highest-ranking American on the list. Already the owner of four gold medals dating to Calgary in 1988, she was a veteran approaching 30 when the 1,000 took place at Lillehammer. Blair won by 1.5 seconds, still the largest margin of victory in the event’s history.

Andre Sondral, Norway, 1998 1,500 meters, 107.87 seconds, -2.46: Sondral’s tortured relationship with Olympic skating dated to a silver medal at Albertville in 1992 followed by a fall in the 1,000 and a fourth in the 1,500 at Lillehammer in 1994. Overcoming a quadriceps injury, he came to Nagano as a favorite in the`1,000, but illness prevented his even starting. That left the 1,500. Paired with Ids Postma, they raced stride for stride, Sondral winning as both men registered world record setting times.

Karin Enke, East Germany, 1984 1,000 meters, 81.61 seconds, -2.48: Enke dominated skating at the Sarajevo Games, winning four medals, two of them gold. They were among her eight medals – three of them golds — overall. In the 1984 1,000 she beat teammate Andrea Mitscherlich by more than a full second, a few days later repeating the experience by nearly two seconds in the 1,500.

Natalya Petruseva, USSR, 1980 1,000 meters, 84.1 seconds, -2.54: One of the highlights of the 1980 Olympic speed skating competition was Petruseva’s rivalry with American sprinter Leah Mueller. In the 500, Mueller’s 42.26 beat Petruseva by sixteen-hundredths of a second, although Karin Enke edged them both for the gold. Paired against one another in the 1,000, Mueller took the early lead until Petruseva overtook her midway through and pulled away to win by more than half a second in Olympic record time.

Johann Olav Koss, Norway, 1994 10,000 meters, 810.55 seconds, -2.55: As a two-time distance gold medalist in his home country, both in world record setting time, Koss took to the start line for the 10,000 as a heavy favorite. He took the suspense out of his bid for a third gold early, reeling off a succession of 33 second laps that buried his closest competition by 18.5 seconds and shattering the world record by 13 seconds. He was presented his gold medal by Hjalmar Andersen, the most legendary figure in Norwegian speed skating prior to Koss. Speaking of whom…

Hjalmar Andersen, Norway, 1952 5,000 meters, 490.60 seconds, -2.57: Among the 25 most dominant performances in speed skating history, Andersen’s is the most durable. Only three skaters have performed more dominantly since Anderson’s victory at Oslo in 1952. His 8:10.6 time set an Olympic record, Anderson finishing farther ahead of the runner-up than the runner-up finished ahead of the seventh place finisher. In the intervening 16 Olympiads, nobody has posted a larger margin of victory in the Olympic 5K.

Cindy Klassen, Canada, 2006 1,500 meters, 115.27 seconds, -2.62: Klassen’s showing in the 2006 1,500 is the most dominant performance by a female skater in the history of Olympic speed skating, and the most dominant by any North American skater, male or female. At Turin she won five medals, battling more or less constantly with Ireen Wust and Anni Friesinger. Klassen and Friesinger had shared the World Cup title the previous four years, and they were paired together at Turin. The showdown was no contest, Klassen steadily pulling away to beat Friesinger by two seconds and teammate Kristina Groves, the silver medalist, by 1.6 seconds.

Yevgeni Grishin, USSR, 1956 500 meters, 40.20 seconds, -2.65: Cortina represented the USSR’s debut in Winter Olympics competition, and Grishin quickly showed the rest of the competitive world what it had been missing. He beat teammate Rafael Gratch by six-tenths of a second, the Soviets claiming three of the top four spots. He would add the 1,500 meter gold and repeat in both events in 1960.

Johann Olav Koss, Norway, 1994 5,000 meters, 394.96 seconds, -2.92: Koss is the only skater with three of the 25 most dominant performances, all three of them occurring at Lillehammer in 1994. In the 5K, he overcame a sprained ligament in his knee sustained two months before the games to better his own world record time with 6:34.96, nearly eight seconds better than any of his competitors. The average of the world’s 30 best skaters in that event was more than 20 seconds slower.

The 25 most dominant performances

in Olympic freestyle skiing/snowboarding history

Methodology: Each Olympian’s rating is based on the standard deviation of his or her time or score* – calculated in seconds — measured against the average of the first 30 finishers unless there are fewer than 30 competitors, or unless a competitor finishes more than one-half standard deviation behind the competitor immediately ahead of them. If the latter occurs, his or her time/score and those of all subsequent competitors are not considered. However, at least 10 competitors’ times/scores must be considered unless there were fewer than 10 competitors. Since there are generally fewer than 30 competitors in freestyle skiing and snowboarding finals, preliminary or semi-final times of non-qualifiers may be included to flesh out the field. By extension, this means that the athlete with the best time/score is not necessarily the gold medalist. The following example, from the 2006 men’s halfpipe won by Shaun White, illustrates the method. The field average score was 34.63; the standard deviation was 5.22:

Place Entrant Nation Score St. Dev.

Shaun White United States 8 2.33

Danny Kass United States 0 1.80

Makku Koski Finland 5 1.32

Mason Aguirre United States 3 1.00

Anti Autti Finland 1 0.74

Gary Zebowski France 6 0.63

Markus Keller Switzerland 5 0.61

Christopher Schmidt Germany 5 0.55

Vinzenz Lueps Germany 8 0.25

Risto Mattila Finland 8 0.03

Crispin Lipscomb Canada 9 0.48

Andy Finch United States 1 1.59

Mathieu Crepel France 4 0.38

Giacomo Kratter Italy 0 0.29

Takaharu Nakai Japan 8 0.25

Jan Michaelis Germany 3 0.14

Brad Martin Canada 7 0.01

Hugo LeMay Canada 1 -0.10

Gian Simmen Switzerland 8 -0.16

Janne Korpi Finland 5 -0.22

Micael Lundmark Sweden 5 -0.41

Domu Narita Japan 5 -0.88

Justin Lamoureux Canada 5 -0.88

Fumiyuki Murakami Japan 1 -0.97

Kim Christiansen Norway 0 -0.99

Kazuhiro Kokubo Japan 0 -0.99

Frederik Kalberman Switzerland 8 -1.03

Frederik Austin Norway 2 -1.38

Mitchell Allen Australia 8 -1.46

Mitchell Brown New Zealand 3 -1.57

*The ski cross is neither timed nor scored; those events are not included in this rating.

Summary: Since the sport’s introduction in 1998, Americans have been the dominant force in the various non-traditional snow sports. That’s reflected in these ratings. Entering the 2018 Games, seven members of the top 25 are Americans, nearly twice as many as from any other country. Aside from the USA, there is no concentration of power; ten nations are represented in the top 25. Four of the top 25 are non-gold medalists, two of which are non-medalists. Those two both competed in the 2014 women’s parallel slalom, an event whose outcome was decided in a series of head-to-head competitions following qualifying heats. For that reason, the rating is based on qualification times. Having said that, one of the noteworthy aspects of the rating is that Marion Kreiner, a women’s parallel slalom competitor at the 2014 Olympics, ties for second with Shaun White with a 2.38 rating. That rating is based on her preliminary time. In the 16-skier elimination rounds, Kreiner lost her second race and thus is listed as having placed fifth overall. The gold medalist, Austrian Julia Dujmovits, had only the fifth best qualifying time; her subsequent 1.42 rating is well out of the top 25. Kreiner and White are the only two athletes with two placements among the top 25.

Disclaimer: Our perceptions of the strength of individuals (or teams) can be colored by factors that are extraneous to their actual dominance: general familiarity, the presence or absence of attention-getting personalities, national affinities, subjective opinions that become engrained over time, superiority in certain statistical categories being the most likely. This rating is based on an objective methodology, meaning that it is immune to influence from any of those criteria. That also means its findings may vary – in some cases substantially – from the historical consensus. As you scan this list, be prepared to have your presumptions of relative greatness challenged.

Each paragraph contains the skiers’s rank, name, Olympic year and event, plus his or her dominance score as expressed in standard deviation above the average of the 30 best performers in that event.

Methodology: Each bobsled team’s rating is based on the standard deviation of the team’s time – calculated in seconds — measured against the average of the first 30 finishers unless there are fewer than 30 competitors, or unless a team finishes more than one-half standard deviation behind the team immediately ahead of them. If the latter occurs, the team’s time and those of all following teams are not considered. However, at least 10 teams’ times must be considered unless there were fewer than 10 competitors. The following example, from the 2010 two-man competition, illustrates the method. The field average was 209.16 seconds; the standard deviation was 1.38 seconds:

Place Entrant Nation Seconds St. Dev.

Lange/Kuske Germany 206.65 -1.82

Florschutz/Adjei Germany 206.87 -1.66

Zubkov/Voyevoda Russia 207.51 -1.20

Ruegg/Grand Switzerland 207.85 -0.95

Lueders/Lumsden Canada 207.87 -0.93

Holcomb/Tomasevicz U.S.A. 207.94 -0.88

Abramovitch/Prudnikov Russia 208.46 -0.51

Maskalans/Dreiskens Latvia 209.08 -0.06

Angerer/Bermbach Germany 209.29 0.09

Napier/Langton U.S.A. 209.40 0.17

Istrate/Craciun Romania 209.43 0.20

Kohn/Cunningham U.S.A. 209.78 0.45

Danilevic/Stoklaska Czech Rep. 210.28 0.81

VanCaiker/Jansma Netherlands 210.45 0.93

Rush/Brown/Bissett Canada 210.46 0.94

Kupczyk/Niewiara Poland 210.50 0.97

Tosini/Riva Italy 210.66 1.09

Loacker/Hackl Austria 210.78 1.17

Serveile/Gattuso Monaco 210.84 1.22

Summary: Europeans have dominated the bobsled competition, holding 21 of the top 25 positions on this list. Far and away the two most dominant countries have been Germany and Switzerland, together accounting for 17 of the top 25. There are three representatives from Italy, two each from the USA and Canada, and one from the Soviet Union. Since the Olympics inaugurated a women’s bobsled competition, three women’s teams have qualified for the list.